


While Lights Were Paling One by One

by pizarra



Series: The Warlock's Bane [5]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe - Dark, Dark, Dark Arthur, M/M, Paranoia, Possessive Behavior
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-20
Updated: 2014-07-20
Packaged: 2018-02-09 16:04:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1989165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pizarra/pseuds/pizarra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur now knows where Merlin is hiding out, and he's got a plan that will bring his beloved back into his arms.</p><p>  <i>Title from He Wishes His Beloved Were Dead by W.B. Yeats</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	While Lights Were Paling One by One

Arthur paces his chambers, boots falling heavy on the floor with every step. He has spent two full moons to learn where Merlin and the others are hiding, and he’s finally found them.

The Perilous Lands.

Charging into another kingdom to get his Consort back is difficult, but not impossible. Except the Perilous Lands are steeped in magic, hundreds of years infested with a dark curse, and Merlin knows it too. Merlin is powerful; so powerful that he can take the magic from the land and use it to his advantage. Arthur suspects that Merlin is waiting for Arthur to enter the realm, and take the fight to him, where he has the most power to fight back.

However, Arthur’s not going to do that. He will flesh Merlin out, make him leave the safe circle of his friends and the protection that the Perilous Lands brings, before he takes him again. And this time, he’ll make sure that his consort won’t be able to escape.

Someone knocks on the door. Arthur nods at his new manservant, Wyot, for him to open the door. It’s Sir Atherol.

“Sire. We’ve found him.”

He walks out of his chambers and follows Atherol down to the throne room. This is it—the moment he’s been waiting for has finally come into fruition.

The heavy doors open, and Arthur’s eyes immediately gets drawn to the chained figure in the middle of the room. He’s not moving, nor whimpering, and for a moment Arthur is proud of the man’s strength and bravery. However, Arthur smirks to himself, strength and bravery can’t save him now.

“Get him up,” Arthur orders the knights surrounding the man, and two of them immediately grab hold of an arm to hoist up the man to his knees. Arthur sees a bloodied face and long grimy hair. He smiles.

“Well, well, Leon, this is such a _surprise_ ,” he states, he lifts the man’s chin to look into his eyes. Leon turns away. “Tsk, tsk. Now I see what a huge mistake it was to let you live. I have a good mind to run you through right now.” Arthur pauses for a bit, knowing that the man kneeling before him will not squirm, but wanting the silence to scare the man into submission nonetheless. “Or perhaps not. I may have some use of you.”

“You will get nothing from me,” Leon spits at him, blood oozing from the wound on his cheekbones to his chin.

He laughs, pleased at his brave and loyal knight. Oh, how _delightful_ this is going to be. He decides to play along. “So you won’t tell me where my beloved is?”

“No.”

Leon is utterly defiant, his eyes glinting with hatred at his former king. Arthur finds it amusing.

He sighs. “Very well. I guess I’ll just have to make do with what I’ve got.” He nods at Atherol. “Take him to the dungeons. And make sure that he doesn’t escape.”

Now, the real fun begins.

 

\----------=========----------

 

Arthur enters the lone room of the southern tower with a loud thud, making the girl scamper to the wall, the clanging of chains resonating deafeningly around the room. He nods at the knights outside the door before closing it, giving him and the girl privacy.

He walks forward and kneels in front of the girl, all the while the girl makes these pathetic whimpering noises that makes Arthur want to slit her throat in the spot. But he needs her. And she’s going to be willing if she knows what’s good for her.

“Shh. Be quiet.” Arthur waits until the girl has calmed down before continuing. “I have heard rumors that you are a powerful Seer. That you can find anybody anywhere. Is this true?”

“My lord, I haven’t done anything, I swear. Please, my mother and brother need me. Please, Sire, I can’t control my magic. Please don’t kill me!”

Oh, what a small and helpless thing. Arthur pets the girl’s hair, stroking the blonde locks until her cries have subsided. “Shh, there you go. Calm down, little one. I’m not going to kill you. Although,” he uses a finger to lift the girl’s chin, making her look at him, “I do need your help in finding a person. Can you help me find this person? Would you do that for me?”

Still sniffling, the girl nods.

Arthur smiles. “Perfect.”

 

\----------==========----------

 

Merlin’s magic tingles as he feels a stranger enter the Perilous Lands. He straightens up from reading the huge grimoire, angling his head and channeling his magic for a better feel of the stranger. Tendrils of magic quickly closes the distance to feel the intruder, to protect Merlin and the inhabitants of the Dark Tower from Arthur’s troops.

The intruder is a young boy, and he feels somewhat familiar, as Merlin has made contact with him before. But there’s also something strange about his soul. As if it’s in pain, terrible pain. Quickly, Merlin calls his mother.

Hunith enters the chambers Merlin has called his own since they arrived, somewhat out of breath, worry written all over her face. “Merlin? Son, are you alright?”

Percival rode hard to Ealdor to get Hunith out just in time. Not far from the village’s borders were Arthur’s troops, ready to kidnap his mother and take her prisoner for the King’s own sadistic reasons. The reunion between mother and son was a poignant one, but Merlin still refuses to give Hunith details of what he’s been through.

Merlin flushes in embarrassment. “I’m sorry, Mother, I didn’t mean to frighten you. I just need to go to the border and double-check the enchantments I’ve placed. Someone broke through one.” He turns and starts packing for the things he’ll need.

“Merlin,” Hunith says, voice tentative, “perhaps it would be better if you send Percival instead? We’ve not heard from Leon for a few days, and everyone’s worried that he’s—“

“Mother,” he cuts in, knowing full well where the conversation is going, but not wanting his mother to become even more scared. “Please, don’t worry. I’ll be fine. And if it makes you feel better, I’ll take Percival with me, alright?”

Hunith nods. Merlin rushes out to get Sir Percival along the way.

The intruder is not someone he would ever expect. It’s the young boy who was beaten by the men for having magic. Merlin starts to rush forward, to help the stumbling boy, but he stops halfway. The boy’s eyes are glazed over, as if a white screen had been put in to cover his eyes. His mouth is open, drool slipping freely down his chin and onto the ground. And then, there is the way he walks. He is sluggish, the kind of stride you would expect from someone who just woke up. He tramples the ground, not caring if he tramples on the grass or stumbles into roots.

The boy stops walking as soon as Merlin and Percival are about ten paces away from him. Without a greeting, the boy speaks. “Merlin…”

Horror seeps into Merlin’s veins. One glance at the knight and Merlin knows that Percival recognizes the voice too.

It’s Arthur.

“Merlin, my love,” the boy’s mouth moves with the words, but all Merlin can hear is the King. “I found you.” The sing-song voice makes the warlock step back, right into Percival. The knight puts a hand on his shoulder to ground him. “Don’t you remember this boy?” The boy’s right hand slowly rises to poke himself on the chest. “He thinks you’re quite the hero. Won’t shut up about you. All he can talk about is how the great King Consort saved him from the pyre.” Arthur’s disembodied voice laughs, and the way that the boy’s mouth laughs with him is more horrifying. The boy’s face is deprived of emotion, and every movement of his mouth makes him look like a puppet. “Oh, but his little hero worship didn’t save him in the end.”

Merlin is terrified. Hearing Arthur’s voice again takes him back to those nights Arthur would enter him, again and again, reminding Merlin to know his place. To know who’s _king._ But Merlin can’t keep on running away forever.

“Arthur, you’re a monster! That boy is innocent! How—how could you do this?” Merlin cries.

The boy takes a step forward. Then another. Percival grips his shoulder and pulls him back, away from the boy. “Oh, Percival. You take good care of my husband, don’t you? I can see it. You can’t keep your large hands off of him!”

Thankfully, Percival says nothing. Arthur’s paranoia is boundless, and Merlin can tell that his mind is slowly slipping its grip on reality.

“Merlin,” the boy points a finger at Merlin’s chest, “you will see what it means to run away from me. I have Leon. Oh, he’s not talking, you know. Loyal to you till the end. But none of that will matter, because tomorrow at dawn, he will stand in the pyre and burn unless you come back to me! I will burn Leon, then I will burn those who remain loyal to you. Think about it, Merlin. I will burn the servants first for letting you escape. You’re rather fond of servants, aren’t you? Then I’ll burn the guards, the councilmen, the ladies, then the townspeople. I will burn them unless you come to me willingly. Come back, love, and I will forget this ever happened. Your little friends can have their little freedom. I’ll leave them alone for eternity if you accept my demands.”

All through Arthur’s speech, Merlin keeps on backing away from the boy. He miscalculated. He thought Arthur would come to him, he thought that Arthur would infiltrate the Perilous Lands to take him. Or kill him. He has set enchantments and traps in place that can defeat an entire invasion. Oh, but he was so wrong. He should have known that Arthur has anticipated it, that the King is far better knowledgeable in battle. And now, he’s endangered more lives because of his stupidity.

“Merlin…” Percival’s voice brings him back to the present, and he looks up at the gentle knight and nods. Arthur’s voice needs to go.

The boy turns sharply to look at Percival. “Oh,” the boy’s mouth moves, “It’s ‘Merlin’ now, is it? No, we can’t have that, can we? Be careful in the woods, Percival. Once I catch you, I won’t hesitate to kill you.”

Before Merlin can do the banishing spell, the boy slumps forward without warning. Merlin tries to catch him, but Percival stops him with a hand on his shoulder before moving forward himself. The knight turns the boy over, wrenching a sharp gasp from Merlin’s lungs. Without Arthur’s command, the boy’s lips are blue, and his face is white as sheet, the veins under his skin visible and marked with black magic. Still Percival feels under the boy’s chin for a pulse and finds nothing. The knight shakes his head.

“Oh, Arthur. What have you done?” Merlin whispers into the wind.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for the likes and the comments! I'm glad that you like the series well enough to spend time reading it. You are all amazing with your comments and hints! I hope I can still surprise you with the next installments! We're nearing the end of the series, so wish me luck!


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